Interesting. I found that the area businesses stopped right away and that it was just the evangelical Christians that persisted. Fortunately, I think most of them finally realized they weren't wanted at my door. I haven't had more than a couple in the last year.

Absolutely. I think that showing up to vote would be a step in the right direction because it would show the politicians that a significant portion of voters was not Christian. But pressuring those running for office or holding office on specific issues would be even more helpful. And we could do this even if we were less than thrilled with the specific person who was elected. This is where a secular voting bloc could really be effective.

It is interesting how effective Christianity has been at absorbing pre-Christian beliefs like the ones you describe. With the regional and cultural differences, I imagine this helps to explain why Catholicism in the Philipines probably looks a bit different from Catholicism in the U.S. and why both likely differ from Catholicism in much of Europe or South America. Even if the core Catholic ideas all started from one point, they incorporated aspects of the local cultures as they spread.

Yes, I also find it disturbing how some Christians really seem to enjoy the thought of non-Christians suffering in hell. In many cases, the "love" they talk about appears to be reserved for those who believe what they believe.